253 Porridge

First  watched : 1976

This  had  been  going  a  while  but  I  think  I first  caught  it  when  it  started  following  Top  of  the  Pops  on  a  Thursday  in  May  1976. Porridge  was   Dick  Clement  and  Ian  La  Frenais's  next  project  after  Whatever  Happened  to  the  Likely  Lads  and , of  necessity, another  very  male-centric  sitcom.

Ronnie  Barker   ( often  wrongly  assumed  to  have  had  a  hand  in  writing  it  )  played  Norman  Stanley  Fletcher, an  habitual  criminal  banged  up  with  naive  first  timer  Godber  ( Richard  Beckinsale )  and  supervised  by  pompous  martinet  Mr McKay ( Fulton  McKay )  and  his  neurotic, easily-swayed  deputy  Mr  Barraclough ( Brian  Wilde ) . They  were  supported  by  a   rich  cast  of  inmates, none  of  whom  appeared  in  every  episode, most  notably  gay  knitter  Lukewarm  ( Christopher  Biggins )   and  fearsome  tobacco  baron  ( Peter  Vaughan, one  of  my  favourite  actors ) .

The  series  is  very  fondly  remembered  and  I  know  I  enjoyed   it  at  the  time  but  I  now  find  details  of  individual  storylines  hard  to  recall. Three  series  were  made  in  total  with  the  last  episode  broadcast  in  1977. The  series  ended  because  Barker  didn't  want  to  become  too  identified  with  the  one  character  though  he  then  agreed  to  reprise  the character  in  a  spin-off  series  Going  Straight  the  following  year.